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Power Breakfast on July 8 Offers Opportunity to Meet Local Candidates

June 17, 2015

2015 is an important election year in Mississippi, and with primaries later this summer on August 4, candidates are in full swing with campaigning. As part of our monthly Blue Ribbon Business Resources series, the Greater Starkville Development Partnership will provide our membership with an opportunity to meet and hear from local candidates during the next Power Breakfast scheduled for July 8 at 7:30 a.m. at Hilton Garden Inn in Starkville.

All county offices, the Oktibbeha County Mississippi legislative delegation and a number of state-wide offices will appear on the ballot for the general election on November 3, and many candidates face primary challenges as well. Because so much of county administration, maintenance, safety, educational and economic development concerns are governed by the Oktibbeha County elected officials, the Partnership is hoping to use the upcoming Power Breakfast as a means of helping members and local citizens become informed about candidates. The Oktibbeha County chapters of both the Democratic and Republican parties will co-sponsor the non-partisan event on Wednesday, July 8 where each participating candidate will make a five-minute statement. Blue Ribbon series events are typically a great opportunity for networking, and we hope members will come early for breakfast and informal conversations with candidates in attendance. Doors will open at Hilton Garden Inn at 7:00 a.m., and we anticipate the program to adjourn at 8:30 a.m.

With a focus specifically on local county elected offices, the Partnership extended an invitation in June to every candidate who met the legal qualifications for appearing on the ballot in November. Candidates were given a deadline to RSVP, and we are very proud to welcome 14 local candidates who accepted our invitation to attend. Because of time constraints and the number of local county offices on the ballot, another event is in the works to allow members and citizens to interact with our legislative candidates. We hope that next month’s Power Breakfast will offer a great opportunity for GSDP members to gain a better understanding of the function of county offices as well as become more familiar with the candidates seeking to serve.

The following candidates are scheduled to offer statements on July 8:

Circuit Clerk:
Michael Jason Campbell

Constable District 2:
Andre Quinn

Coroner:
Michael Hunt
Chris Pollan

County Prosecutor:
Haley Brown

Justice Court Judge District 3:
C. Marty Haug

Supervisor District 1:
John Prate Montgomery, Jr.

Supervisor District 2:
Robert “Bubba” Lee Gray, Jr.
Orlando Trainer

Supervisor District 4:
Bart Gregory
Bricklee Miller

Sheriff:
George Carrithers
Steve C. Gladney

Tax Assessor/Collector:
Allen Morgan

As a further effort to inform voters, the Partnership will also publish a series of candidate-submitted profiles on our Starkville Insider blog over the next two weeks leading up to the Power Breakfast Candidate Meet & Greet. Every qualifying candidate for county and Mississippi legislative office was presented with a brief questionnaire designed to glean information about his or her qualifications, experience, and vision for Starkville and Oktibbeha County. The Partnership will publish the unedited candidate profile submissions organized by elected office beginning on Monday, June 22. The opportunity to submit a Q&A profile was open to each candidate, even those unable to attend the July 8 Power Breakfast. We hope this blog series will serve as a resource for members and county voters as we prepare for the primary election on August 4 and the general election on November 3.

The deadline to register to vote in the 2015 August primaries is Friday, July 3. Registering to vote is the first step in exercising the right of suffrage given to all citizens. We encourage all Oktibbeha County citizens who are not registered to vote to visit the office of the Circuit Clerk at the Oktibbeha County Courthouse on Main Street in Starkville to register.

Power Breakfast is free to the listed employee representatives of all Greater Starkville Development Partnership members, but we do ask that you register your attendance so that we can plan for catering needs. Members, click here to register or through your online ChamberMaster member profile at http://members.starkville.org. Login is required. If you do not have member login credentials, please contact Brittney Young at 662.323.3322.

The event is also open to non-members at a fee of $25 per person. For non-member registration, please contact Brittney Young at 662.323.3322 to reserve your space and arrange for payment.